Breathing Embodied “Diversity” into the Biblical Studies Machine: Envisioning Transgressive and Decolonizing Citation Practice

Abstract

This essay critically reflects upon the well-intended and yet unfortunately insufficient push for more diversity in citation practices within biblical studies. Such insufficiency occurs due to the perfunctory act of breathing diversity into biblical interpretation without disrupting the colonial legacies and currents of the field of biblical studies. Moreover, such perfunctory citation practice deliberately overexposes the inclusion of minoritized scholarship in order to control their place in the narrative of the field. By doing so, the stranglehold of “whiteness” in biblical studies is unchallenged. How does then one disrupt such insufficiency? I suggest that genuinely diverse citation practices transgress the borders or limits of the textual by embodying activism. If one truly cares about diversity, then the writing scholar should also be an activist scholar. Citation is not just about making a list; it is a socio-ethical commitment to engage holistically the lived realities of the oppressed and silenced.